PREVIEW | County make the trip to West Sussex to face Crawley Town

Newport County AFC will be looking to keep their positive League Two form going when they travel to West Sussex on Saturday to face Crawley Town. The Exiles haven’t lost on the road in the league since the opening day of the season, but the home side have a superior home record of late and will looking for an upset on the weekend.

Here, you can find all the facts and statistics ahead of this League Two fixture…

Last five matches in League Two

Not the best of results for Crawley Town recently as in the last five League Two outings, they have lost every away game but won every home fixture.

Unfortunately for the Red Devils, when looking at their last five league results specifically, three of the fixtures have come on the road meaning they have only been able to acquire six points since 22nd September.

That run starts with manager Gabriele Cioffi’s first defeat at the helm as they went down 1-0 at Forest Green Rovers. Talisman Reuben Reid secured all three points for the Green Devils, in what is still their only home success this season in League Two.

Crawley bounced back from that defeat when securing a 3-1 home victory over Yeovil Town. Ollie Palmer and Carl Dickinson traded goals in the first-half, before Ashley Nathaniel-George and Filipe Morais scored after the break to secure what was, at the time, Crawley’s third victory in four matches.

But their away form has been a cause for concern and former manager Harry Kewell ensured he took all three points from Crawley as Notts County secured a 3-1 victory. Kane Hemmings, Jon Stead and Nathan Thomas put them fully in command – whilst Dominic Poleon grabbed a consolation in stoppage time.

Another home win then follows for the Red Devils as they defeated struggling Cambridge United 2-0 at Broadfield Stadium. After a closely run contest in the first-half, Luke Gambin and Palmer struck after the restart to ensure a victory for the home side in West Sussex.

Last weekend, Crawley failed to ascend into the play-off places as they suffered a 3-1 defeat at another play-off aspiring outfit in Colchester United. Luke Norris stole the show for the U’s, grabbing two assists for Sammie Szmodics and ex-Exile Frank Nouble before hitting the target himself, while Morais converted a penalty for the away side.

Team-News

Crawley Town manager Gabriele Cioffi has a couple of players unavailable as he prepares to welcome County to West Sussex on Saturday.

Captain Jimmy Smith is likely to miss both meetings against the Exiles this season, with the midfielder ruled out for the majority of the campaign having suffered a cruciate ligament injury.

Defender Bondz N’Gala will also be missing for the Red Devils after he was dismissed in stoppage time last weekend having needlessly kicked out at Luke Norris in-front of the referee.

Winger Ashley Nathaniel-George missed out last time out through injury but is fit to return, while former Exile Reece Grego-Cox also comes back into contention having spent the past week with the Republic of Ireland U21s.

One to Watch – Ollie Palmer

Striker Ollie Palmer has made a sensational start to life as a Crawley Town player having joined the West Sussex side over the summer.

The 26-year old has found the net on seven occasions from 14 appearances in all competitions – getting a double against Swindon Town alongside further strikes past Cheltenham Town, Stevenage, Bury FC, Yeovil Town and Cambridge United.

Only the goal against Cheltenham Town came away from Broadfield Stadium and he has been directly responsible for winning his side five points already in the campaign.

For a 26-year old, Palmer is well travelled across the lower divisions of the Football League and non-league, starting with Woking in the Conference South back in 2010.

Alongside a short loan stint at St Albans City, Palmer finished his debut season with two goals from 20 appearances for Woking and after another loan spell at Boreham Wood, moved on to Havant & Waterlooville.

After a good first season, Palmer must have done something right in the second campaign because Chelsea were reportedly scouting the striker and he finished with 25 goals from 44 appearances.

A move to the Premier League giants never materialised, however, but he did get a move into the Football League when joining Mansfield Town who, alongside County, had just achieved promotion into League Two.

Seven goals from 64 appearances saw him shipped out on loan to Grimsby Town, then in the Conference, before being afforded another Football League opportunity at Leyton Orient ahead of the 2015/16 campaign.

His goals to games ratio was slightly better, 14 from 74, but again he found himself on loan, this time to Luton Town but he could only add another three goals from 18 appearances.

Last season, Palmer found himself at Lincoln City and he was at least able to register his best goals return in the Football League – 11 for the campaign – but he moved from the Imps to the Red Devils over the summer.

Manager – Gabriele Cioffi

It’s certainly quite easy to follow a distinct pattern at Crawley Town since manager Gabriele Cioffi took charge at the club.

Joining on his 43rd birthday and having just seen the Red Devils defeat table topping Lincoln City, Crawley have since won every single home League Two fixture and lost every away League Two fixture.

There is a slight anomaly as sandwiched within those results the Red Devils lost at home to Portsmouth in the CheckaTrade Trophy, but its been a good start for the Italian in his first managerial position in England.

In fact, this role is only Cioffi’s second managerial job and he will certainly be looking to rewrite the wrongs from his first position – where he was sacked by Lega Pro Seconda Divisione club Gavorrano after only securing one win from his first ten matches.

He’s held several coaching positions since retiring from the playing side of things in 2012, staying with Carpi as assistant coach for a full campaign.

The short stint at Gavorrano then comes, before Cioffi relocated himself to Australia and worked as youth coach for Eastern United FC. He went back to Italy for a short spell as youth coach at Südtirol but was quickly on a plane once again, this time to move to Al Jazira Club in the United Arab Emirates.

In December 2016, the Italian joined compatriot Gianfranco Zola as part of his backroom staff at Championship outfit Birmingham City but left in April 2017 – moving to Crawley last month when replacing outgoing manager Harry Kewell.

Stadium – Broadfield Stadium

A relatively new stadium in comparison to some of the more prestigious and historical venues across League Two, Broadfield Stadium has been home for Crawley Town since it was built in 1997.

A mixture of terracing and seating, Broadfield Stadium is the second smallest across the entirety of the division, only trailing Forest Green Rovers’ The New Lawn, and has an official capacity of 6,134.

The record attendance at the stadium is slightly smaller than the official capacity, but it wasn’t a happy afternoon for the majority of the 5,880 spectators there as Crawley Town were knocked out of the FA Cup by Reading thanks to an Adam Le Fondre double on 5th January 2013.

Despite being a relatively new stadium, County have actually visited the stadium on 10 previous occasions – starting with a 2-2 draw on 28th August 1999 thanks to goals from Carl Dale and Lee Brown.

County then secured back-to-back victories there by score lines of 2-1 and 1-0 on 5th May 2001 and 23rd February 2002 respectively, before suffering their first defeat at Broadfield Stadium 2-0 on 7th September 2002.

Another victory then comes in a 2-1 success on 26th April 2004 before a six-year break when returning after County stormed to the Conference South title in the previous campaign.

Danny Rose, Craig Reid and Darryl Knights all scored in-front of 467 County supporters in a 3-2 victory on 16th October 2010, before the Exiles again won by the same scoreline on 8th October 2013 when 81 away fans made the trip for a Johnstone's Paint Trophy tie.

The remaining three visits to Broadfield Stadium all come in League Two, starting with the 2-0 defeat on St David’s Day 2016 when 105 supporters travelled for the midweek fixture.

Crawley again won on County’s next visit, this time by three goals to one when 107 supporters travelled to West Sussex on 16th December 2016, but the Exiles got their revenge last season when a Mickey Demetriou double gave them a 2-1 success on 26th September 2017. A total of 75 away supporters were present that night.

Meetings in the 2017/18 campaign

Two identical score lines and a full return of six points for County in the two meetings against Crawley Town last season as they controlled the fixture both home and away.

That starts with the first fixture between the two sides on 26th September 2017 as County came from behind to win and make the journey home from the Checkatrade.com Stadium that little bit more special.

Crawley’s opener came on the half hour as Mark Connolly connected superbly to an Enzio Boldewijn delivery to head home, before Mickey Demetriou levelled proceedings on 40 minutes with a header of his own from a Sean Rigg corner-kick.

In truth, Red Devils goalkeeper Glenn Morris probably should have commanded his area more and punched the ball before it reached Demetriou, but he didn’t, and failed to learn from that mistake as exactly the same thing happened on 51 minutes to put County in-front.

It was nothing more than County deserved for an encouraging start to second-half proceedings, but they still had to hold on to secure victory, Josh Yorwerth hit the post 60 seconds before the end, but they couldn’t find the equaliser and the Exiles took the points.

In the reverse fixture, Friday Night Football hit Rodney Parade and the Exiles once again came out on top against their League Two counterparts by a 2-1 scoreline.

County hit the woodwork twice in the early stages and had to work hard for what was a deserved lead, but it came on 40 minutes as Ben White found Padraig Amond unmarked in the area and the Irishman did the rest.

If there’s one thing you can say about Demetriou and his relationship with Crawley Town, it’s that he likes scoring against them, and he got his fourth in three matches against the Red Devils when converting a penalty just before half-time.

Away captain Jimmy Smith did pull a goal back in the second-half after a scramble in the area eventually afforded him some time to shoot, but County held on quite comfortably from there to ensure it was a night to remember ahead of facing Tottenham Hotspur eight days later.

Officials

Referee: Charles Breakspear

Assistant Referee 1: Richard Kendall

Assistant Referee 2: Thomas Ramsey

Fourth Official: Stephen Brown

Breakspear is currently embarking on his sixth season as a Football League referee having officiated his first match in League Two on the opening day of the 2013/14 campaign when York City started the campaign off in perfect fashion having secured a 1-0 victory over Northampton Town.

He has refereed 14 matches this season, giving out 43 yellow cards and seven red cards, including brandishing two yellows and a red in his inaugural fixture as Stevenage and Tranmere Rovers drew 2-2 at the Lamex Stadium.

Two matches have been officiated this season by Breakspear without a single booking being awarded – the EFL Cup draw between Millwall and Gillingham which the Championship side won on penalties, alongside the draw between Portsmouth and Shrewsbury Town in League Two.

Breakspear has given out more than one red card for a fixture just once this season and that match included Crawley Town. Josh Payne was sent off for the Red Devils, as were James Dunne and Toumani Diagouraga for Swindon Town, when the sides drew 2-2 at Broadfield Stadium.

That follows on from refereeing a total of 47 games during the 2017/18 campaign, a season in which Breakspear brandished 163 yellow cards and 18 red cards throughout the entirety of the campaign.

County Connection

Breakspear has refereed a match involving Newport County AFC on 13 previous occasions. He is not the luckiest of omens for the Exiles, however, as they have won only three of those previous matches – drawing another five and losing the remaining five.

Last season, Breakspear refereed three matches involving County, starting with the 1-1 home draw with Mansfield Town on 21st October 2017. Only Dan Butler was cautioned from a County perspective.

There were red cards brandished in the other two games that season, captain Joss Labadie getting dismissed alongside bookings for Mickey Demetriou, Frank Nouble and Shawn McCoulsky in the 2-0 defeat to Wycombe Wanderers on Boxing Day 2017.

Swindon Town’s Rollin Menayese was then dismissed for a second bookable offence as County beat the Robins 2-1 at Rodney Parade on 14th April 2018.

In the 2016/17 campaign, another three County matches were officiated by Breakspear, the first of which saw Luton Town convert both penalties in their 2-1 victory at Kenilworth Road. The Exiles received six bookings - Dan Butler, Darren Jones, Jennison Myrie-Williams, Mark Randall, Ben Tozer and Jon Parkin the offenders.

He again refereed County on Boxing Day but they again suffered defeat as Portsmouth fought from two goals behind to win 3-2 at Rodney Parade. Bookings for Jazzi Barnum Bobb, Ben Tozer and Rhys Healey.

Breakspear refereed both County games against Luton that season and the teams played out a 1-1 draw at Rodney Parade on 21st March 2017. Mark O’Brien was sent off for two bookable offences, whilst Tom Owen-Evans, Joss Labadie, David Pipe and Sean Rigg received yellows.

In the 2015/16 season, Breakspear only refereed one game and it was arguably the biggest of the campaign in the Emirates FA Cup tie with Blackburn Rovers on 18th January 2016. Both sides received a red card, Joe Day for County and Chris Brown for Blackburn, alongside a further booking for Connor Dymond.

Again it was just the one game officiated by Breakspear in 2014/15, but it wasn’t the greatest affair as the Exiles drew 0-0 at Plymouth Argyle. Ismail Yakubu and Andy Sandell were both booked on 21st March 2015.

In County’s first season back in the Football League, Breakspear again refereed one game but it didn’t go to plan as Dagenham & Redbridge won 2-1 at Rodney Parade. David Pipe was sent off, with further bookings for Lee Minshull and Tom Naylor on 19th March 2014.

In County’s non-league days, Breakspear officiated another four fixtures and they all came during the 2012/13 promotion season, starting with the 0-0 draw with Stockport County on 8th September 2012.

Ismail Yakubu was booked as County beat Mansfield Town 2-0 on 12th February 2013, Tony James and Michael Flynn were cautioned in a 1-1 draw at Ebbsfleet Town on 9th March 2013, while no yellows were given as Braintree Town were overcome 1-0 on 9th April 2013.

Travelling to the game?

Can’t make the match?

You can follow along on social media using @NCAFCLive on Twitter, or via the Club’s official Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram pages.

Don’t forget – if you reside outside of the UK, you can watch the game live by subscribing to County’s iFollow service. Commentary by Tim Thraves can also be found at the Match Centre from 2.45pm.

An on-the-whistle match report of this match will be provided on the Club website upon the end of the game. Michael Flynn’s post-match analysis will appear on the website the day after the game, while you can watch all of Flynn’s post-match press conference as-well as two County players by subscribing to iFollow Exiles.

REPORT| County suffer defeat at Crawley Town

Newport County AFC suffered their first away League Two defeat since the opening day of the season as Crawley Town secured a 4-1 victory at Broadfield Stadium.

Jamille Matt’s clinical eighth goal of the campaign on the hour cancelled out Joe Maguire’s opener after just a minute, but Crawley grabbed three goals in quick succession to take the game from County.

Captain Filipe Morais’ calm penalty on 62 minutes set the wheels in motion and further strikes from Ollie Palmer and Ashley Nathaniel-George gave the Red Devils all three points.

Due to MK Dons’ victory at home to Northampton, the result means County slip out of the automatic promotion places on goal difference, whilst the other two sides above them Exeter City and Lincoln City could only limp to draws.

Mike Flynn was forced to make four changes to his injury-hit side that beat Stevenage with a dramatic stoppage time winner last weekend.

Tyler Forbes missed out on the matchday squad for an unspecified reason as David Pipe came back in, while the Exiles switched to a 4-1-2-3 formation at Broadfield Stadium with Charlie Cooper and Josh Sheehan coming into the midfield.

Injury kept Tyreeq Bakinson, Robbie Willmott and Matty Dolan out of the contest, hence the formation change, with Antoine Semenyo coming in on the right side of the attacking trio.

After registering as a player yesterday, Flynn named himself on the team sheet as part of the six substitutes when looking for his first appearance for County since 25th February 2017.

Crawley Town manager Gabriele Cioffi made just the two changes to his side that lost the battle for a play-off spot last time out against Colchester United.

Having picked up a needless red card in stoppage time last weekend, Bondz N’Gala missed out at the start of his suspension so the Red Devils switched to a 3-4-1-2 formation from the first whistle.

Romain Vincelot came back in to join the defensive system while the other alteration was slightly more straightforward as Panutche Camara came in for Dominic Poleon up-front.

Unfortunately for County, their best opportunity throughout the entirety of first-half proceedings came after just 28 seconds. Clever play in the middle sent Antoine Semenyo through on goal but Crawley Town goalkeeper Glenn Morris got down well to hold the shot at the second attempt.

To make matters worse for the Exiles after that early attack, the Red Devils hit back immediately and took the lead with their first chance after exactly one minute of action.

County were left exposed in the midfield and were made to pay as Josh Payne spread the play out-wide for Lewis Young, the right-back charged past Dan Butler and sent a perfectly weighted ball into the area for Joe Maguire to get his first goal for the club since joining on loan from Fleetwood Town.

From that point forth, it was all one-way traffic in favour of the hosts and Joe Day had to be at his inspired best to thwart the Red Devils when coming forward.

All the play seemingly came through the midfield general of Filipe Morais, the home captain setting up chances for Young and Luke Gambin, but they were both denied from close range by Day.

Morais then decided to go for goal himself on 16 minutes but David Pipe threw himself expertly at the goal bound attempt, before Day had to be alert and stop his audacious effort from around 35 yards.

After becoming frustrated at not being able to extend their advantage, Crawley then decided to go back to what had worked previously and the combination of Young and Maguire almost paid dividends again on 25 minutes.

The goal scorer probably couldn’t believe how he failed to get his second when wastefully heading past the far post from all of a yard, but in his defence, Pipe had closed the angle down well and limited the space in which to find.

Gambin was at his effervescent best and causing a host of problems with his tricky runs in behind and it again required a vital block from Pipe to keep him out.

Crawley hitman Ollie Palmer then dragged a shot wide as the pressure still kept on coming, the home side profiting from slick and skilful play in all departments of the pitch.

After great persistence down the right, Antoine Semenyo hit the side netting in a rare sighting at goal for the Exiles and in first-half stoppage time, Fraser Franks hooked a shot wide.

The Exiles really needed to start well after the restart if they were going to get themselves back in the contest and Morris had to superbly deny Padraig Amond from Pipe’s cross.

It was certainly a much more positive start to second-half proceedings from the Exiles and birthday boy Jamille Matt twice evaded the far post when flashing headers across the face of goal from Demetriou crosses.

The ascendency had well and truly turned at Broadfield Stadium and County found their equaliser after 59 minutes following more determined and resilient play.

Jamille Matt seemed to have Mark Connolly’s number for a good few minutes before the goal, holding him off with ease, and when Semenyo fed his fellow attacker, Matt turned his marker and fired past a helpless Morris to get the Exiles back on level terms.

But the worst thing to do after working so hard to get yourself back on level terms is let the opposition back in and Crawley were awarded a penalty on 62 minutes.

Franks was adjudged to have pulled down Palmer as the striker went to pull the trigger and captain Morais stood up to take it from 12 yards and he sent Day the wrong way.

The pendulum swung again as Morais had the confidence to dictate the play once again and Crawley built themselves a healthy advantage on 72 minutes.

After a corner-kick was only half cleared into the path of George Francomb, the centre-half played a neat one-two with Camara before throwing another cross towards the far post where Palmer rose highest to guide it home.

It was almost like everything Crawley hit turned to goals at this point and they made it four after 79 minutes when substitute Ashley Nathaniel-George was given too much time and space to pick his spot from 25 yards.

Shortly after, Franks was then shown his marching orders for an overzealous lunge on the latest Crawley scorer, meaning the Exiles had to play the final eight minutes with ten men.

Day made a superb save to deny Panutche Camara in the latter parts of the six additional minutes at the end of the second-half – County suffering a rare League Two defeat in West Sussex.